#crypto

Grayscale Investments is gearing up for a potential positive outcome in its lawsuit with the SEC, as it begins hiring for its ETF team. The firm is on the lookout for a "Senior Associate, ETFs" to bolster its ETF business development. This move comes as the crypto community eagerly awaits a court decision on Grayscale's proposal to convert its GBTC fund into a spot bitcoin ETF. The outcome could set a precedent for other asset managers seeking approvals for spot bitcoin funds, influencing the future of crypto ETFs.

PayPal suspends crypto buying services in the UK Starting October 1, 2023, PayPal will no longer support cryptocurrency purchases for it's users from the United Kingdom. This action is consistent with the company's obligation to comply with local financial legislation. While the measure is planned to last until the start of 2024, PayPal remains hopeful about restoring the service. During the suspension, users are free to either hold their existing cryptocurrencies without any associated fees or sell them if they choose.

Coinbase has obtained regulatory approval from the National Futures Association (NFA), a CFTC-designated self-regulatory organization. This approval allows Coinbase to function as a Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) and provide eligible US customers with access to crypto futures through its platforms. With this approval, Coinbase becomes the first crypto-native platform to offer a combined solution featuring traditional spot crypto trading and regulated, leveraged crypto futures for their US verified customers.

Crypto miners in the U.S. have initiated the Digital Energy Council to lobby for miner-friendly policies amidst ongoing crypto regulation debates. The council aims to advocate for sustainable energy development, grid resilience, U.S. competitiveness, and national security. This move comes as President Joe Biden's administration proposes a 30% excise tax on mining operations, citing societal harms. Additionally, Democratic lawmakers criticize miners for environmental concerns.

Kevin Kelly, Delphi Digital's co-founder, suggests the crypto market is entering a new cycle. He highlights the consistency in crypto market timings, from peak-to-trough bottoms to recovery durations. Using Bitcoin as a reference, Kelly describes a typical cycle: a new all-time high, an 80% drawdown, a recovery to the previous high in two years, and a rally to a new peak. This cycle aligns with broader business cycles. Kelly also draws parallels between Bitcoin's price peaks and the ISM Manufacturing Index. Despite potential short-term setbacks, Kelly remains optimistic about the market's outlook for the next 12-18 months.

Social app friend.tech has recorded protocol fees amounting to more than $1.42 million within the past 24 hours, positioning it among the top three crypto projects in terms of user-paid fees. It now stands as the third-highest project for user-paid fees, following Ethereum and Lido Finance, according to data from DeFiLlama. Built on Coinbase’s Base Layer 2 chain, friend.tech is a social app that integrates with X (Twitter). It allows users to trade tokenized shares linked to each other’s profiles. Shareholders enjoy exclusive content access and private chat rooms in X.

The Sei team has initiated token claims for those who participated in the testnet early on. However, the meager bonuses received have left many reevaluating their decision to engage in future airdrops, especially for Tier-2 or Tier-3 projects. Rewards were disappointingly scant, with most individuals earning only a nominal amount for blockchain testing. The SEI token price decreased by 20%, possibly attributed to either the overnight downturn in the crypto market or the airdrop itself. P.S.:To claim your tokens, the Compass wallet is essential, and some regions might require a VPN.

In a three-month span beginning in March 2023, the FBI shifted gears in their investigations involving digital currencies. Those efforts have led to the confiscation of an estimated $1.7 million in cryptocurrencies such as BTC, ETH, USDT, XMR, and DAI. Some of these were traced back to Binance-affiliated wallets. Notably, the Eastern District of Virginia saw the most substantial single seizure of 428.5 ETH.

US House Financial Services Committee members, led by Chair Patrick McHenry, are seeking clarity from the SEC and FINRA about how Prometheum secured a special purpose broker-dealer (SPBD) license. They're probing if the SEC used Prometheum as a model firm to support Gary Gensler's stance that existing laws suffice for crypto regulation in the U.S. Despite Prometheum's claims of being pivotal for regulated digital asset offerings, the lawmakers pointed out that the firm hasn't served any customers yet. Also they raised concerns about potential ties between Prometheum and the Chinese Communist Party. The committee has requested related documents and communication records by Aug. 22.